Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. -- The Crucible, the culminating event of recruit training, is a challenge on its own.
Recruits overcome obstacles, sleep and food deprivation and 56 hours of testing their mettle to earn the title of Marine. However, on a recent evolution, recruits had to overcome another obstacle ... freezing weather.
"The wind cut straight to the bone," said Pvt. Perry Wright, a recent graduate from Mike Company. "No matter what we were wearing, even sweatshirts and cammies, it was still cold." Mike Co. recruits weren't the only ones to notice the cold.
"It was very cold," said Pvt. Nicole Verwald, a recent graduate from November Co. "It was exhausting trying to stay warm." The low temperatures not only made the recruits uncomfortable, but also made completing the obstacles nearly impossible.
"The hardest part about the Crucible was trying to complete the obstacles with your muscles not working and your fingers going numb," said Pvt. David Noblit, another graduate from Mike Co. "We did a lot of buddy huddles just to stay warm."
Cold weather made it harder, but it couldn't stop the recruits. "I just remembered the Marines who had fought in Korea," said Pfc. Neil Sooxdeo, another graduate from Mike Co. "They had it worse than I did."
Sgt. Mike Rodriguez, a drill instructor with Mike Co., made sure his recruits knew other Marines had gone through worse.
"I memorized citations like the one from the Korean War station and let them know they weren't the only Marines who had to overcome the cold," Rodriguez said. "I told them, 'There have been a lot of Marines before and will be a lot of Marines after you who will have to overcome the weather.'"
However, even the knowledge of past Marines couldn't keep winter's bite from affecting the recruits.
"The elements were their biggest adversary," said Staff Sgt. Jason Roope, a drill instructor with Mike Co. The potable water tank froze and the recruits couldn't get water out of them sometimes. One recruit had a canteen freeze, he added.
November Co. also had its' challenges.
"The recruits were cold and didn't want to move," said Staff Sgt. April Rains, a drill instructor with November Co. "They still did the obstacles, though."
The cold weather was persuasive, but nothing compared to the leading voice of a drill instructor.
"We just kept them moving," Rains said. "You have to push the recruits and exert their energy or else they will just glide through."
But not all of the recruits needed pushing.
"I just remembered why I wanted to come here and what other Marines were expecting of me," Sooxdeo explained. "Everyone was hurting just as bad as I was."
Other recruits looked at the final prize.
"I just thought about how far I've come and what was waiting on the other side," Wright said. "I also prayed for strength ... a lot."
Wright's prayers were answered not only for him, but for recruits in both companies. Neither company dropped a single recruit due to the weather. One recruit was even happy the weather was cold.
"My mentors always told me you perform like you're trained," Sooxdeo explained. "It was tough training, and I would rather have it tough now than later."
In the end, the only effect the cold weather had was making the Crucible a better learning experience for the Corps' newest Marines.